Naaah, I shouldn't complain

The coldest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth was −89.2°C (−128.6°F) at the Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica July 21, 1983.






On September 13, 1922, a temperature of 57.8 °C (136 °F) was recorded in the city of Al 'Aziziyah, Libya.


The weather here in Kuala Lumpur will likely be:






Here for the 10 most extreme weather conditions on earth.





What Should She Say?

So what should she say to this man, once her boss's boss, now axed by the powers-that-be? Someone, once too harried to glance in her direction in those serene corridors of his office; he who is now approaching her table at the mamak shop as she is greedily slurping her sop kambing. A casual salam, she smiles her best smile, she introduces her husband, he introduces his family, and she inquires of his plans, he inquires of hers, she says he looks well and he smiles a fleeting smile. What can she say about that strapping figure of a man, who is now walking forlornly away, shoulders hunched, head bowed?

He had always been supportive and had understood the needs of her department, had been willing to defend her department's proposal to the highest level; though she is thankful to have been buffered by enough hierarchy not to have to bear the brunt of his occasional rages.

She feels sorry for him.

"Why should he grieve over a lost appointment?" she asks her husband, who's still in employment despite his years. Her boss's boss surely has a huge nest-egg bigger than what they both can imagine or will ever have. He has a string of titles after his name. Why couldn't he just relish his new freedom. He could catch up on his ibadahs, he could play golf all day everyday.

"Aaaah", says her husband, "who would want to play with him now?"



She is about to say in jest "I would", but thinks better of it.
She hopes Dato' will remain well.

_________________________________________________________________

Someone Under Your Bed?

Conversations between a Clinophobic and a Shrink

“I’ve got problems. *Every time I go to bed I think there’s somebody under it. I’m scared.. I think I’m going crazy.”

“Just put yourself in my hands for one year,” said the doctor. “Come talk to me three times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears.”

“How much do you charge?” I asked

“Eighty dollars per visit,” replied the doctor

“I’ll sleep on it,” I said, and off I went to seek solace at my favourite watering-hole.

Six months later the doctor met me on the street.

“Why didn’t you ever come to see me about those fears you were having?” he asked.

“Well,” I said, “Eighty bucks a visit, three times a week for a year, is an awful lot of money!” I said, “A bartender cured me for $10, and I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought myself a new car!’

“Is that so?” said the psychiatrist in a bit of a huff. “And how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?” “And in such a short time?”

“He told me to cut the legs off the bed! - Ain’t nobody under there now ! ! ! “

That's Life

For so-and-so who's giving it another shot in June

That's Life
That's life, that's what all the people say.
You're riding high in April,
Shot down in May
But I know I'm gonna change that tune,
When I'm back on top, back on top in June.

I said that's life, and as funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks,
Stompin' on a dream
But I don't let it, let it get me down,
'Cause this fine ol' world it keeps spinning around

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate,
A poet, a pawn and a king.
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing:
Each time I find myself, flat on my face,
I pick myself up and get back in the race.

That's life
I tell ya, I can't deny it,
I thought of quitting baby,
But my heart just ain't gonna buy it.
And if I didn't think it was worth one single try,
I'd jump right on a big bird and then I'd fly

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate,
A poet, a pawn and a king.
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing:
Each time I find myself laying flat on my face,
I just pick myself up and get back in the race

That's life
That's life and I can't deny it
Many times I thought of cutting out
But my heart won't buy it
But if there's nothing shakin' come this here july
I'm gonna roll myself up in a big ball and die
My, My



Love and Marriage
Love and marriage, love and marriage,
Go together like a horse and carriage.
This I tell ya, brother, you can't have one without the other.

Love and marriage, love and marriage,
It's an institute you can't disparage.
Ask the local gentry and they will say it's elementary.

Try, try, try to separate them, it's an illusion.
Try, try, try and you only come to this conclusion: Love and marriage, love and marriage,
Go together like a horse and carriage.
Dad was told by mother you can't have one
You can't have none.
You can't have one without the other.

Money Talks!!! hahaha

From yesterday's Star newspaper

Oh wow, am just wondering ..... was this how twice-divorced so-and-so snared his latest? And he's absolutely penniless!

Off course being Malaysian his "bank balance" shows a stunningly healthy

+6 01x xxx xxx

Hey man, you're at it again.... make it last this time, OK?

A Midnight Awakening

And so I was in Ho Chih Minh City with my sister Zsa-zsa, for a couple of days. And off course we went shopping on the first day. And on the second day we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels where we learnt how, 40 or so years ago, the Congs had outwitted the Yanks at war. And we later went to the Mekong delta area to take in some Vietnamese rurality. Did some walking at and in the tunnels, and at the delta we got to ride on a ferry boat, later on a horse-drawn cart through a village and, to get back to the ferry, we were taken on something like a gondola, without the serenade, luckily. We were taken to a coconut-candy (like our dodol) factory, but none in our group bought any candies there after we chanced upon a dog casually strolling round the cooking area. We were entertained to folk-songs at the village where we partook of some raw honey and divinely fresh fruits. Yeah, that sight-seeing trip took the whole day and off course, being shopaholics we had dallied at a lacquer factory far longer than the alloted half-hour; where I bought a Picasso reproduction in lacquer, framed in wood. I was rather pleased with that, actually.

And off course we were absolutely knackered when we returned to the hotel after stopping by at a halal restaurant for a lack-lustre dinner. And after a shower and solat, Zsa-zsa said "Come, let's check out the spa".

SPA?!

"Look at the time" I said indignantly: it was 10.00 pm. "We have an early flight to catch tomorrow, and your packing's not quite done, yet". "Alaah, only that little bit I can put in that (fake) Kipling bag I bought yesterday. Come, come, it's on the 4th floor". I'm the younger sister, the compliant Capricorn and she, the bossy Leo. Bossy? Well....... only sometimes. (Sshh - if she reads this, I'll never hear the end of it).

At the reception counter, the notice says, and I'm not lying, it says, you pay one price, only 14USD for all services, tip not included. Services are full-body massage, foot reflexology, rejuvenation facial, hair shampoo and cut, manicure and pedicure. You pay only 14USD for everything. We asked the pretty receptionist, "What if we just do one or two, is that ok?". "Oh that is alright Madamme, but you can do everything because we are open 24 hours", she replied sweetly in that typical sing-song Vietnamese accent. Zsa-zsa looked at me and I looked at her. Our thoughts were vibrating at the same frequency: "Eh OK-lah, that's the same price we pay for Thai massage at Sunway Pyramid man...".

And so we changed into the robes and men's bermuda-length cotton shorts, because the ladies L size were a tad tight for matrons like us. I remember thinking that I should start eating beef soup noodles and nothing else everyday from now on. Well, we decided to do just the facial and the massage.

The facial was out of this world. Lots of rippling massage to the cheeks, forehead and temples, with an exquisite head and neck rub to round-off. And off course a cooling mask, in between. Before moving to the body massage area, we ticked our rating of the service in a form and signed it. "That's a neat way to appraise staff performance", I remarked to Zsa-zsa. I rated mine as "good".

Now the full-body massage. It wasn't like the Thai massage at Sunway Pyramid at all. All we did was to lie face down on a bed in a darkened room. I did not know what or how the masseuse did the massage because I was at alpha-level or theta-level or whatever consciousness most of the time. But it felt good and at the right strength for me. Later Zsa-zsa told me that they had used their feet on us, they had literally stepped on us from our soles to our upper backs. No wonder it felt different. I rated the massage as "very good" and the masseuse said, "Thank you very much, Madamme", one of her KPI's met, presumably.


At this point, it was past mid-night and I was so very relaxed and my eyes were almost shut tight. We sleepily changed back into our clothes and proceeded to the reception counter to pay. With a sweet smile which I could barely see through half-closed eyes, the girl there punched on her calculator and chirped, "Madamme your facial and massage is 14 dollars plus your tip for the facial is .......... 7 dollars ........ plus your tip for the massage is ..........10 dollars. Altogether 31 dollars Madamme",.

I was jolted awake. What?! It says there 14 dollars only?.

"It's what you ticked in the form Madamme".

It's what you ticked in the form Madamme - kept going in my head. As we walked back to the room, Zsa-zsa said "Why you so generous, both I ticked "poor". Only 5 dollars each".

"Not generous-lah, just honest. You, very stingy", I said wearily.

Actually Zsa-zsa is a very generous person.

The name of the hotel can be found here.

Ain't nothin' new this twitter

Listen from 6:06

1968

Hey there kiddos, Look what I found at Tok Mi's house the other day. My old PHOTO ALBUM......YAY!!! Look how aged it is, just like Aunty Z.











Waah, so tiny. See the names of my class-mates - wow, my handwriting was quite nice then, don't you think?------------>>>








Wing Leong - now a Kiwi, last I heard. I picked up some Mandarin from her. Wo yau shek fan. Mei yo, mei yo. Wo pu dong. Ni men se mok? Wo pu ai ni.






And to round off a good year (1968), what else but a School Talentime contest. Here we were the spoof act during the intermission.

The band was Les Chinchalok - the members were Zendra, Rafidah, Rahmah, Kim Lin and Faziah. The "instruments" were 3 badminton rackets, a dustbin cover on a stool, and a dustbin turned upside down!




Hahaha that was really fun


Which school did you go to, Aunty?
Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Melaka.
Sekolah Perempuan Tinggi?
Whatever.
After that?
BBGS.
Hahahaha - Big B___side Girls School.
ISSSHH. I was destined for greatness.






See here?






Nobody knows you-lah Aunty Z.
You're right................ And THAT is a blessing.

Children, young and old, at play

Man vs Woman

From my Inbox:

SHOPPING ACUMEN

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need.

WORRIES AND SUCCESS

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man

EQUATIONS

Smart man + smart woman = romance

Smart man + dumb woman = affair

Dumb man + smart woman = marriage

Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING

To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.

To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

LONGEVITY

Married men live longer than single men, but married men are a lot more eager to die.

______________________________________________________________

The realities that make the world go round.........

Would I make a cool Cabinet Minister?

and if so, in which portfolio?

According to a personality test, I am an ISTJ i.e. introverted, highly sensing with extraverted thinking and judging.

Here's my personality profile (condensed):

---

ISTJ Strengths

---

• Honor their commitments
• Take their relationship roles very seriously
• Usually able to communicate what's on their minds with precision
• Good listeners
• Extremely good (albeit conservative) with money
• Able to take constructive criticism well
• Able to tolerate conflict situations without emotional upheaval
• Able to dole out punishment or criticism when called for

---

ISTJ Weaknesses

---

• Tendency to believe that they're always right
• Tendency to get involved in "win-lose" conversations
• Not naturally in-tune with what others are feeling
• Their value for structure may seem rigid to others
• Not likely to give enough praise or affirmation to their loved ones

---

ISTJs as Lovers

---

ISTJs are committed, loyal partners, who will put forth tremendous amounts of effort into making their relationships work.

ISTJs do not feel threatened by constructive criticism or conflict situations. When faced with criticism, the ISTJ is likely to believe that their point of view is correct. They have a tremendous amount of respect for Facts, and base their opinions on known facts and logic. Consequently, they have a hard time seeing the viability of viewpoints which don't match their own.

Since ISTJs make decisions using the Thinking function (rather than Feeling), they are not naturally likely to consider their mates feelings and emotions in daily living. The ISTJ needs to remember that others may need to hear that they are loved and valued, even if the ISTJ doesn't need to hear this themself.

ISTJs are generally very capable and efficient at most things which they endeavor. Consequently, their mates are likely to hold a good amount of respect for them. Daily concerns are likely to be well-provided for by the ISTJ.

Since the ISTJ is so willing to work hard at issues, and so tireless at performing tasks which they feel should be done, the ISTJ generally makes a wonderful, caring mate who is willing and able to promote a healthy, lasting relationship which is also a partnership.

---

ISTJs as Friends

---

Although friendships do not rank highest in the ISTJ's list of important relationships (whose duties and obligation to the Family rank above all else), they do value these relationships and put effort into enhancing and maintaining them. The ISTJ is likely to choose to be around people who have similar interests and perspectives to their own, and are likely to not have much patience with people who are very different from themselves.

Although their usual mode of being is very serious-minded, ISTJs like to have fun and let loose. They like being with Extraverts who are optimistic and fun-minded, although the E's enthusiasm may eventually get on the ISTJ's nerves.

---

Careers for ISTJs

---

ISTJs have one character trait which puts them at a definite advantage in terms of career success - Perserverance. An ISTJ can do almost anything that they have decided to do. However, ISTJs seem to fit extremely well into the Management and Executive layer of the corporate business world.

Possible Career Paths for the ISTJ:

• Business Executives, Administrators and Managers
• Accountants and Financial Officers
• Police and Detectives
• Judges
• Lawyers
• Medical Doctors / Dentists
• Computer Programmers, Systems Analysts, and Computer Specialists
• Military Leaders

_________________________________________________________________

Hee,hee,hee I do agree that I am managerial material (an ISTJ speaking ...... ahem, ahem) and I was indeed working in one of those areas mentioned. A military leader only at home, hubby makes the GENERAL decisions whilst I, the MAJOR ones.

I share my personality with Queen Elizabeth II, Harry S. Truman, Warren Buffet, Queen Victoria, James K. Polk, and J.D. Rockefeller, to name a few.


Wow, quite a number of presidents and billionaires. I COULD make a good minister, too.

But on second thoughts, I'd rather be a QUEEN, protecting my loyal subjects all over my queendom, and beheading traitors and wannabes eyeing my throne. YES!



"We are not amused"
HRH Queen Zendra I, of United Blogdom





Find out your personality here

Coffee-mate

Aaaah........ In my fifty plus years of living, nothing seems more enthralling than the sensuous aroma of freshly-brewed coffee. Be it local 434, Hang Tuah or Mum's favourite Cap Rusa, or hubby's Carrefour, or Melor's fetish for the unconventional or even just plain instant, coffee never fails to wake up my senses and put me in the mood. Mood for what? you might think.




Well, let's say the mood to tackle my to-do list....... which goes something like (in no order of priority):

1. pull out the weeds growing in my teeny lawn
   
2. clean the pantry cupboard
3. re-organise the book-cupboard
   
4. start again for the umpteenth time on my beginner arabic
   
5. claim from IRD my over-paid taxes
6. my wardrobe needs organising, too
   
7. it's the 8th of the month - most of my bills will fall due soon
8. exercise, exercise, exercise - got to get fit for that back-packing trip in June
9. oh yeah, update my other blog with last night's usrah topic - riya' (hmmm .... wondering whether me babbling here is considered riya')
   
10. need to buy new headphones for this laptop and yellow cartridge for the printer
11. ......
    
12. ......
    
13. ......
    

and it goes on.


Apart from the the usual run-of-the-mill cooking, cleaning, laundry, there's nothing there to get my socks off, so to speak. Just an ordinary home-maker's concerns, unlike some now on-shore/now off-shore Capt.'s log.

Just one mug of steaming hot coffee in the morning will often hit the right spot. If fasting, then the same at syahur will see me through the day. Add to that a tall mug of teh halia in the afternoon, and I'll be in top form till the early hours.

Now why can't I enjoy these wonderful beverages without getting over-stimulated? Take hubby or even my sis, for instance. They have coffee for night-caps, but once they hit the pillow, off they are to dreamland.

Yesterday I decided to quit for a day. I instead had this chocolate concoction that had kacip fatimah and collagen included (in response to hubby's tongkat ali coffee which he consumes to keep up with me hahaha). By late afternoon, my withdrawal symptom appeared in the form of a tightness in my neck and shoulders, developing to a throb on top of my head by night-time. I could have gone to bed earlier than usual by the way, but hubby wanted to read the SoPo blogs about the elections and so I waited up too.

This morning, I was still headachey. I knew the remedy .................. a nice steaming hot mug of wonderful aromatic strong Carrefour instant coffee. It's 1.20 pm and headache's long gone, I've churned out this entry and I'm good to go for a bout of strength training after lunch perhaps.

I didn't need the honey (old-folks recommendation for curing insomnia) last night. We'll see how it goes tonight.

I Want To Know What Love Is

Something from the past nice to listen to

Kepada kita yang suka melancong ke luar negara ............... satu peringatan.

A forwarded e-mail message from hubby:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

date		Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 2:52 PM

A timely story before you fly off to HCMC without me!

---

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 9:33 PM

Dear friends,

Kepada kita yang suka melancong ke luar negara ............ ... satu peringatan.

I would like to relate to you all an incidence... ......... ...... quite recent, i.e. about two weeks ago......... ...

After my daughter's wedding in early February, I had gone to Shanghai (saja nak enjoy lepas penat menguruskan perkahwinan) and my cousin went to Bangkok with his wife and brother in-law. Dia orang ni pun penat juga menolong buat hantaran dsb.

Nak dijadikan cerita, waktu nak pulang ke KL menaiki Air Asia, my cousin dan isterinya berbelanja di Duty Free Shop di airport. Mereka membeli chocolates untuk cucu-cucu dan rokok untuk dirinya sendiri. Mereka telah diberitahu bahawa pembelian chocolate mereka ada free gifts berupa chocolate juga. Semuanya ini mereka letak di counter bayaran.

Waktu hendak membuat bayaran, mereka ternampak ada sebungkus rokok diletak di atas 1 karton rokok yang diletak di casher, berupa rokok dari brand yang sama. My cousin telah membayar kesemua chocolates dan 1 karton rokok tersebut dan meletakkan ke dalam beg untuk di bawa keluar, tanpa memperdulikan sebungkus rokok yang terletak di atas karton rokok beliau.

Nak dijadikan cerita, isterinya menunjukkan kepada rokok yang sebungkus itu yang sangkanya diberi percuma. My cousin terus mengambil sebungkus rokok tersebut dan berlalu untuk ke dewan berlepas (departure hall).

Sewaktu di Dewan Berlepas, beliau telah didatangi oleh seorang sekuriti dan bertanya kepadanya sama ada my cousin ada membeli rokok. Dengan ikhlas my cousin telah menunjukkan chocolate dan rokok yang dibelinya di Duty Free Shop tadi..... bersama dengan rokok sebungkus yang disangkanya diberi percuma.

Sekuriti menuduhnya mencuri rokok tersebut dan mahu membawanya ke balai polis untuk didakwa. My cousin offered to pay for the cigarettes kerana salah faham beliau. Tetapi pihak sekuriti nenolak dan masih berkeras untuk membawanya ke balai polis. Manakala isteri my cousin disuruh pergi menaiki kapal terbang. Isteri my cousin tidak mahu meninggalkan suaminya di sana dan berkeras untuk ikut sama ke balai polis.

Di Balai Polis (yang terletak di kawasan lapangan terbang itu juga) my cousin telah diminta membayar ganti rugi sebanyak RM30,000 jika mahu dilepaskan. Kalau tidak beliau akan ditahan sehingga wang tersebut dibayar. Oleh kerana mereka tidak mempunyai wang sebanyak itu, my cousin telah dimasukkan ke lock-up di situ disamping ramai lagi tourists yang mendapat nasib yang sama. Manakala isterinya menumpang di rumah salah seorang kenalan mereka di Bangkok . Bersama beliau di lock up itu ada seorang tourist dari India telah berada di lock up itu lebih sebulan lamanya kerana keluarganya belum dapat mengumpul wang sebanyak US$70,000 kerana beliau dituduh mencuri pen (padahal tourist tersebut mengambil pen tersebut untuk membuat pembayaran di kaunter. Waktu mencari kaunter pembayaran, beliau terkeluar sedikit dari kawasan kedai tersebut, terus ditangkap dan didakwa mencuri!)

Sewaktu my cousin ditahan di balai polis tersebut, adik iparnya yang menaiki MAS tidak mengetahui kisah yang berlaku kepada abang iparnya. My cousin's wife menghantar SMS kepada adiknya menyatakan kisah yang terjadi kepada mereka. Tetapi oleh kerana adik ipar ini telah memasuki pesawat, beliau tidak boleh keluar lagi. Setiba beliau di KL, beliau berpatah balik ke Bangkok dengan menaiki pesawat MAS juga. Disamping itu keluarga my cousin di KL telah cuba menghubungi Kedutaan Malaysia di Bangkok dan beberapa kenamaan yang lain. Pihak polis Bangkok tidak memperdulikan semua rayuan yang dibuat baik oleh Menteri-Menteri di Malaysia maupun pihak Kedutaan kita di Bangkok .

Keesokkan harinya setibanya adik ipar my cousin ini dengan pesawat MAS dari Kuala Lumpur, beliau terus saja ke lock up untuk melepaskan abang iparnya. Dari RM30,000 telah diturunkan ke RM20,000.... . tapi adik ipar my cousin ini tidak punya wang sebanyak itu. Beliau hanya ada RM11,000. Maka setelah beberapa lama berbincang, akhirnya pihak polis bersetuju dengan pembayaran sebanyak RM11,000. Belum pun sempat my cousin keluar dari balai tersebut, polis-polis ini telah membahagi-bahagikan wang tersebut sesama mereka dengan bangganya. Mereka juga menunjukkan wang-wang yang diperolehi yang terdiri dari matawang asing....... .. dan mereka sedikit pun tidak menunjukkan rasa bersalah dengan rasuah yang diperolehi itu.

Keesokkan harinya my cousin telah dibawa ke mahkamah (pesalah hanya berjumpa majestret melalui tingkap saja). My cousin telah disuruh mengaku salah dan didenda sebanyak 2000 baht (what happened to the RM11,000? Tak disebut pun......... .....). Nasib baik my cousin teringat kisah tourist yang didakwa bersama beliau yang keluar tanpa meminta surat dari pihak berwajib tentang penahanan beliau, lalu ditahan kedua kalinya sewaktu mahu pulang di airport Bangkok . My cousin meminta mereka mengeluarkan surat menyatakan kes beliau telah selesai dan beliau dibenarkan pulang.

Sewaktu mahu membeli tiket kapal terbang pulang (tiket ini diuruskan oleh pihak imigresyen Bangkok ) beliau telah diberitahu bahawa semua tiket Air Asia telah habis terjual. Yang ada cuma tiket MAS yang ternyata lebih mahal. Oleh kerana my cousin tidak punyai wang yang banyak, beliau mau menggunakan kad kredit untuk membeli tiket MAS. Yang peliknya bila my cousin kata nak bayar tunai tiket air asia, tiba-tiba saja pegawai ni kata ada tiket lagi dengan air asia ............ ..... (nampaknya semua peringkat yang mengambil kesempatan)

Pihak imigresyen Bangkok telah mengecop Pasport my cousin dan isteri beliau sebagai 'Thief'! Bukan itu saja, my cousin telah digari untuk di bawa ke pesawat. Setiba di pesawat pasport beliau telah diserahkan kepada pihak Air Asia dan apabila sampai di KL pihak imigresyen KL diminta mengiring my cousin ke pejabat imigresyen di Lapangan LCCT. Waktu di pejabat tersebut my cousin telah diberitahu bahawa kejadian ini setiap harinya terjadi kepada rakyat kita........ .... tapi yang peliknya kenapa perkara ini masih dirahsiakan dari kita semua? Pihak kedutaan kita pun menyatakan perkara yang sama...... dan menasihatkan my cousin supaya memberitahu keluarga dan sahabat handai untuk tidak ke Thailand dalam waktu yang terdekat ini sehingga keadaan politik di negara tersebut kembali stabil.

Sekiranya ini tidak terjadi kepada keluarga saya sendiri, saya pasti tidak mempercayainya. ..... macam cerita wayang saja....... tapi percayalah.. ... memang ini kisah benar.

Tears in Heaven

My nephew played this on the drive home from LCCT. My late bro-in-law loved to sing this song to his own accompaniment on the acoustic guitar.